Hintergründig! Hinterglasmalerei aus dem Grab des Tutanchamun

Abstract

Among the burial objects of Tutankhamun (18^th Dynasty) there are numerous objects adorned with decorative inlays of coloured stone and glass. The article provides a brief overview of various glass manufacturing and decoration techniques in the period before Tutankhamun. It presents in detail a small group of exquisite objects with inlays of transparent, colourless glass with reverse painted decoration and discusses their production. From a technological perspective, these have previously received relatively little attention. As well as discussing the stylistic peculiarities of the various reverse paintings on glass, this study also illustrates the use of a considerable amount of transparent glass and reveals that the widely accepted assumption that glassmakers of the 18th Dynasty did not have the ability to produce transparent, colourless glass is outdated.